Chapter 7: Do scammers place tags on their foreheads?

The office buzzed with the sharp rhythm of productivity.

Keyboards clicked rapidly beneath hurried fingers. Large project boards covered the glass walls, filled with venue layouts, sponsorship schedules, lighting concepts, and guest arrangements for upcoming luxury events. Staff members moved in and out carrying documents, fabric samples, and coffee cups as overlapping conversations blended into organized chaos.

At the center of it all sat Pat and his team around a long conference table.

A massive digital screen displayed the blueprint for an upcoming government gala event that their company had been entrusted to organize.

“This section needs better crowd flow,” Mok said while pointing at the presentation screen. “If VIP guests arrive from the east entrance, media traffic shouldn’t cross the same hallway.”

“Agreed,” Pat replied immediately, flipping through the printed layouts in front of him. His voice was calm and focused, professional in a way the team had missed for a long time. “We’ll redirect press access through the secondary corridor and widen security clearance here.”

One of the younger staff members nodded quickly while taking notes.

“And the stage lighting?” another team member asked.

Pat leaned slightly forward in his chair.

“Warm gold tones during the opening speech,” he answered smoothly. “Then cooler transitions for the performance segment. Don’t make it overly flashy. Government officials prefer elegance over spectacle.”

Several heads nodded in agreement.

Across the table, Tee quietly watched Pat while pretending to review paperwork.

For the first time in months, Pat actually looked alive inside the office again.

His concentration was sharp.

His posture confident.

His eyes no longer empty.

Tee almost smiled to himself.

Suddenly, a phone vibrated repeatedly against the table.

Pat frowned lightly and glanced down at the screen beside his documents.

Unknown Number.

The call stopped.

A few seconds later, it started ringing again.

Pat ignored it and continued discussing the project.

But after the third call, even Mok looked over curiously.

“Someone’s desperate to reach you,” Mok teased lightly.

Pat picked up the phone with mild annoyance.

Still the same strange number.

He declined the call immediately and tossed the phone back onto the table

A few minutes later, when the meeting finally ended and everyone returned to their stations, the phone rang again.

Pat sighed heavily this time before standing up from his chair and walking toward the quieter side of the office near the window.

He stared at the number for a second before finally calling back.

The line connected almost instantly.

“Hello?”

A familiar male voice answered warmly from the other end.

“So you finally decided to call back.”

Pat furrowed his brows slightly.

“…Who is this?”

A faint chuckle came through the speaker.

“Ouch. That hurts a little.”

Pat’s expression slowly shifted into confusion before realization suddenly hit him.

“…Yut?”

“Mm. Glad you still remember my name.”

Pat blinked once in disbelief before his gaze instinctively shifted across the office toward Tee, who immediately avoided eye contact and pretended to be busy typing on his laptop.

Pat narrowed his eyes instantly.

That traitor.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out who had given Yut his number.

“I was thinking maybe we could—”

Before Yut could finish speaking, Pat pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call immediately.

Cold. Direct. Merciless.

Across the room, Tee slowly lowered his laptop screen and looked at Pat carefully.

Pat only sent him a deadly stare in return.

Tee immediately raised both hands in surrender from his seat.

“I was just helping humanity a little,” he mouthed defensively.

Pat rolled his eyes and dropped back into his chair with visible irritation while his phone began vibrating again.

“Fuck… fuck you too, Tee,” Pat muttered, shooting Tee a deadly glare from across the desk.

Tee looked completely unbothered.

“But…” he dragged lazily while spinning his pen between his fingers, “Yut seemed pretty cool the other night.”

Pat rolled his eyes immediately.

“He literally helped carry you to the car and looked genuinely concerned about you,” Tee continued softly. “At least be a gentleman and return his calls.”

Pat scoffed loudly before leaning back against his chair.

“Cool my foot,” he grumbled. “Go for him yourself if he’s your ideal type. You don’t even have a partner anyway.”

“Oi, cheab,” Tee clutched his chest dramatically. “That hit me hard, Khun.”

A nearby colleague burst into laughter at Tee’s exaggerated reaction.

Tee pointed accusingly at Pat.

“Besides,” he added smugly, “he wants you, not me.”

“Not interested,” Pat replied flatly without hesitation.

Right on cue, his phone started vibrating again on the desk.

Once.

Twice.

Then continuously.

Pat’s brows knitted together instantly as irritation flashed across his face.

He slowly turned his head toward Tee again and sent him another deadly look strong enough to qualify as attempted murder.

Tee immediately raised both hands.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he defended himself quickly. “I only gave him your number because you looked half-dead at the lounge.”

Pat grabbed the vibrating phone from the table with visible annoyance.

The same unknown number again.

Around them, several team members had already started stealing curious glances while pretending to work.

“Answer it already,” one female staff member whispered teasingly from nearby.

“Maybe it’s destiny,” another added playfully.

Pat looked ready to resign from life itself.

Tee, meanwhile, was enjoying every second of it.

“Speakerphone,” Tee mouthed mischievously.

Pat narrowed his eyes dangerously before answering the call and immediately pressing the phone against his ear.

“A rai?” he said bluntly.

A soft chuckle came from the other end.

“You hang up on people often, or am I just special?” Yut’s voice sounded amused rather than offended.

Pat closed his eyes briefly in frustration while Tee silently shook with laughter beside him.

“Khun, are you not busy? Don’t you have work to do?” Pat said sarcastically, sucking his teeth lightly. “Or… are you a fraudster?”

Several nearby teammates instantly looked up from their desks, already struggling not to laugh.

From the other end of the call, Yut let out an amused breath.

“Ooiii… Khun, a fraudster?” he repeated calmly. “Do I look like one?”

Pat sneered at his phone as though Yut could somehow see the expression on his face through the call.

“Do scammers place tags on their foreheads?” he shot back dryly.

Tee immediately covered his mouth, shoulders shaking from silent laughter nearby.

Meanwhile, Yut sounded even more entertained instead of offended.

“You’re surprisingly hostile for someone I helped into a car last night.”

Pat rolled his eyes instantly.

“And you’re surprisingly persistent for someone I already hung up on twice.”

“Three times, actually,” Yut corrected smoothly.

A few staff members nearby exchanged amused looks while pretending to focus on their computers.

Pat noticed the attention and immediately turned away from them with annoyance.

“Why exactly are you calling me?” he asked flatly.

“To check if you survived your hangover,” Yut replied casually. “And maybe invite you out for coffee when you stop acting like I committed a crime.”

Pat almost scoffed again, but before he could answer, Tee suddenly shouted from behind his laptop loud enough for Yut to hear through the phone.

“He likes iced americano and complains a lot when hungry”

Pat’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Tee.”

His voice came out dangerously calm.

“I swear I’ll kill you.”

………..

Evening settled softly over City as the employees gradually streamed out of the event company building after a long day of work.

Pat walked alongside Tee and several other staff members, one hand tucked into his pocket while the others chatted indistinctly around him about project deadlines, food, and weekend plans.

Pat looked slightly less burdened.

Not fully healed,

but lighter.

“P’Mok almost murdered us with that government project today,” one staff member groaned dramatically.

“It’s Pat’s fault for suddenly becoming hardworking again,” another joked.

Pat scoffed lightly.

“Ungrateful people.”

The group laughed softly as they continued toward the parking area outside the company building.

Then suddenly,

“Khun Pat!”

A deep familiar voice called out warmly.

Everyone halted almost at once and turned toward the direction of the voice.

Leaning casually against a sleek black car parked near the curb stood Yut.

One hand rested lazily inside his pocket while the other waved toward them with an easy smile.

Dressed in a fitted emerald shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms and black tailored pants, Yut looked handsome beneath the evening lights. His calm confidence alone was enough to draw attention instantly.

Several staff members immediately began whispering among themselves.

“Whoa…”

“He’s handsome.“

“That aura though…”

“Is he an actor or something?”

Pat, meanwhile, looked absolutely horrified.

His eyes widened slightly before narrowing dangerously as disbelief, embarrassment, and irritation hit him all at once.

Slowly, very slowly, he turned his head toward Tee.

Tee instantly avoided eye contact.

“The contact card,” Tee replied quickly under his breath like someone confessing a crime.

Pat stared at him in betrayal.

“You what?”

Before Pat could properly explode, Yut had already pushed himself away from the car and started walking toward the group with calm confidence.

The closer he got, the more some of the female staff members visibly straightened themselves unconsciously.

Even a few male staff members looked impressed by his presence.

Yut stopped directly in front of Pat.

Pat immediately looked away with an irritated roll of his eyes, pretending not to acknowledge him even though he could already feel several pairs of curious eyes burning into the side of his face.

Yut smiled faintly at the reaction.

“I see you’re doing better compared to last night,” he said warmly.

Pat folded his arms.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Tee almost choked trying not to laugh.

Yut only seemed more amused before politely turning toward the others.

“Sawasdee khap,” he greeted respectfully with a slight bow of his head.

The team greeted him back almost immediately, some trying too hard to sound composed.

“Sawasdee khap.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Hello.”

Meanwhile, Tee subtly stepped closer toward Yut and lowered his voice enough for only him to hear.

“Khun… you’re really serious about this, huh?” Tee muttered with a teasing smile. “I can see how interested you are in my friend.”

Beside them, Pat looked at both of them with visible disgust.

Yut glanced toward Pat again before answering calmly,

“I go all out for what I want.”

And the warm smile he gave afterward,

was directed entirely at Pat